James Koskei

Fast Former Footballer

In a summer notable for its high temperatures, no one was hotter on the roads than James Koskei. Starting back in April, the 32-year-old Kenyan won nine of the 13 races he entered, setting several course records in the process. Not bad for someone who only started running six years ago.

Until then, Koskei’s main sport was soccer, or football, as it’s known in Kenya and the rest of the world. "I was not a bad football player, but I realized I would never reach the top in that sport," he says. Upon finishing his schooling, he joined the army in 1995 and began training with that group’s stable of distance runners.

He waited until the turn of the millennium to venture to the New World to try his hand at road racing, and his initial sortie was brief, if successful, winning Crescent City and Cooper River and placing second at the Carlsbad 5K during the summer of 2000. After that abbreviated trip, he returned to Kenya and began training with a group of Puma-sponsored athletes near his home in Eldoret. The high altitude camp attracted the likes of trackster Daniel Komen and road 10K world record holder Joseph Kimani.

"Training with them helped my endurance," says Koskei, whose wife and two children live nearby. "The key is to build up your endurance during the winter and spring to carry you through the road racing season in the summer."

Koskei’s workouts obviously produced endurance aplenty as he arrived in the States in April after placing fourth in the World Cross Country 4K race and quickly began fashioning an almost unprecedented streak, rolling a seven in winning a series of 10Ks—among them Crescent City, Bolder Boulder, and Cooper River, where he set a course record of 27:40. He also set a CR at the Gardena (CA) 5000 Invitational, and won the Bay to Breakers 12K, but placed fifth over that distance at Bloomsday.

"Five kilometers is still my best distance, but most of the big races are 10K and longer," Koskei says. With that in mind, his goal is to further increase his strength and endurance for the longer events, with a marathon a future possibility. "But not before 2003," he states emphatically.

Concluding a long season with Falmouth—where the season’s toll began to take effect as he placed 11th, far below his usual top three—Koskei’s plans include two months of easy training while doing chores around the house and spending time with his family. "I miss them when I am in America, but it is part of the job," he philosophizes. In spite of occasionally feeling homesick, Koskei enjoys social aspects of the annual American road trip. "I like seeing my friends at the race, and going to different parts of the country and meeting new people," he says. "Everyone is very friendly, and glad you came to their town."